Sarah May

About the Artist

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

 

Sarah May (she/hers) is a biracial Salvadoreña artist, weaver, storyteller, and community organizer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah with her BFA in Photography & Digital Imaging and her MA in Community Leadership with an Emphasis in Art & Culture from Westminster College. Sarah coordinates and facilitates designated spaces of healing, connection, and empowerment for BIPOC communities with an emphasis in Black, Indigenous, and Womxn, Femmes of Colour. She is a facilitator and coordinator for two groups for Womxn, Femmes, and Non-Binary People of Colour at the YWCA Utah; the Color Collective, an intersectional community group, and the Woke Words Reading and Writing Series.

Sarah creates work exploring the intricacy of narrative through merging multiple mediums together, reflecting on the collective human experience using cyanotype, film photography, found objects, textiles, and her own writing. Her work and process reflect her journey exploring identity as being cyclical and evolving, connecting to ancestry, and the idea of destiny and healing as intertwined.

 

ARTIST RESIDENCIES

  • 2022 The Center For Photography At Woodstock Artist In Residence Program, Woodstock, New York, USA

  • 2020-2021 Test Site Artist In Residence Program, Bountiful Davis Art Center, Bountiful, Utah, USA

  • 2020 The Ou Gallery Artist in Residence, Cowichan Valley, Canada

  • 2015 Gullkistan, Residency for Creative People, Laugarvatn, Iceland

COMMUNITY WORK

  • 2021-2022 Plumas Colectiva Latinx Writing & Art Group, Member & Co-Founder, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2019-2022 Color Collective Facilitator and Group Coordinator, YWCA, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2019-2022 Woke Words: Womxn of Colour Reading & Writing Series Facilitator & Group Coordinator, YWCA, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2021-2022 Cyanotype & Circular Weaving Mandala Community Workshops with Craft Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2021 Program Coordinator Community & Inclusion, Utah Arts Festival, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2017-2021 Information Booth, Receptionist, Office administration, Tech Support & Theatre Volunteer, Sundance Film Festival, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2019 Creative Empowerment Workshop for Latinx Womxn, Consulado de México en Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2018-2019 Creative Expression Workshop for Womxn & Femmes of Colour, YWCA PDX, Portland, Oregon

  • 2018 & 2020 Photographic Mediums & Digital Photography Art Class, Kimball Art Center, Park City, Utah

SOLO & CURATORIAL WORK

  • 2021 roots of my soul // raíces de mi alma // eni-k la-una, Bountiful Davis Art Center, Bountiful, Utah

  • 2019 Fragments Bountiful Davis Art Center, Bountiful, Utah

  • 2018 Prayers for Roses, Atelier Shop & Studio, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2016 Glances, Downtown Artist Collective, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2016 Identity Retablos, The Mestizo Institute for Culture and Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2016 Emotional Ties, The Urban Arts Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2015 Portraits in Pieces, Mineral and Matter + The Land of Salt, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2014 The Identity Project, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2013 The Human Experience, Country Club Plaza, Salt Lake City, Utah

USA EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2022 The Beat of Our Blood Exhibition, Urban Arts Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2021-2022 The New Beehive Exhibition, Granary Arts, Ephraim, Utah

  • 2021 The New Beehive Exhibition, George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Gallery at Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2021 The Statewide Annual UT ‘21: Craft, Photography, Video & Digital Exhibition, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2020 Utah Contemporary Museum of Art 35x35 Extension Exhibition, UMOCA, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2020 & 2016 Artists of Utah’s 35×35 Exhibition, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2019 Weber State Hispanic Heritage Month Exhibit, Ogden, Utah

  • 2019 Lost Words Violence Art Showcase in Collaboration with Safe Harbor Crisis Center, Bountiful Davis Art Center, Bountiful, Utah

  • 2018 Latin Arte, Consulado de México en Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2018 Historias de Ayer y Hoy, Kimball Art Center, Park City, Utah

  • 2017 "Hands up, Don't Shoot!" Exhibition, Mestizo Institute for Culture and Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2016 Dia de los Muertos 2016 Celebration, Utah Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley City, Utah

  • 2016 Identity Retablos, Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2016 Photo Independent Art Fair- Photobook Competition, Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, California

  • 2014 Water is Energy for Souls to Move Through, Bellingham, Washington

  • 2013 University of Utah Annual Student Show, Gittins Gallery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2013 Salt Photo Society, Fracture: An Alternative Process, Gittins Gallery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

  • 2012 Utah Craft and Photography Statewide Show, Rio Grande Depot, Salt Lake City, Utah

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS

  • 2016 In the Midnight Gardens at Mnemosyne Shore, Haus Schwarzenberg, Berlin, Germany

  • 2015 Gullkistan Residency Open House, Laugarvatn, Iceland

  • 2015 In the Midnight Gardens, Bishop Gallery, Dresden, Germany